Two Polish workers awarded a total of £25,000
Two Polish workers have been awarded a total of £25,000 following a race discrimination claim case against a Perthshire fruit picking company. The Central Scotland Racial Equality Council (CSREC) described the treatment as ‘modern day slavery’, adding that the employer would not have dared treat Scottish people the same way.
Polish students Michal Obieglo and Tomasz Kowal lived on-site at Scones Lethendy Farm. There were discrepancies relating to rates of pay, underpayment of wages, incorrect payslips and incorrect deduction of tax. After Mr Obieglo and Mr Kowal approached the employer on behalf of their colleagues with their concerns and subsequently presented a petition with 145 signatories, they were dismissed, allegedly for stealing fruit. Following a strike by other workers, the employer re-instated Mr Obieglo and Mr Kowal, but when they turned up next day, they were met by police officers, escorted from the premises and their belongings withheld until they had bought a bus ticket to Edinburgh.
The tribunal upheld the Polish workers’ claims for race discrimination, unfair dismissal for asserting a statutory right and unlawful deductions from wages. CSREC represented the claimants, backed by the EHRC. The CSREC described their clients’ treatment as ‘modern day slavery’, adding that the employer would not have dared to treat Scottish people the same way, and that’s why the tribunal had found race discrimination.
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